Cameron shoves criticism back in Fins' faces

NFL - Ravens 27, Dolphins 13

He got the Gatorade shower on the sideline, got the game ball in the locker room and got a little moisture in the eyes when he said the ball was for his wife and kids.

"They went through a lot more than I did last year," Cam Cameron was saying as he held up the ball again in the middle of the Baltimore locker room, his shirt still drenched and voice quivering.

He then tapped my note pad and smiled.

"I'm not going to give you anything for that," he said.

Then he gave something anyway. It was nothing, in some respects, because last year is a nothing story now. Yet this was a week where Cameron became a story line again, at least to some Dolphins players who should have known better. Cameron didn't deserve to be called out by the likes of the usually thoughtful Vonnie Holliday.

It didn't matter if you liked or disliked Cameron, tolerated or criticized him for being captain of the 1-15 Titanic. He's yesterday's story. Or he was. He became Sunday's story in some manner, too, as his under-talented offense punched the Dolphins' defense in a manner no team has in Baltimore's 27-13 win.

Arizona and Houston threw over this defense. Baltimore punched it in the face. And kept punching.

"Cam knew some things, what they can and can't do," said running back Willis McGahee, who ran for 105 yards on 19 carries.

"He said, 'We're going to run right at them.'"

The Ravens did, too. Their line lost its starting guard and tackle. McGahee had 30 cubic centimeters of fluid drained from his knee this week. The Dolphins believe the problem was nose tackle Jason Ferguson getting hurt early and reserve Paul Soliai being suspended for breaking team rules. Maybe it was, too.

This is what had to bruise the defensive holdovers from Cameron's time even more. Baltimore's offensive coordinator used his battered offense to show what he really thought about some of the up-front defensive talent on the team last year. What's more, Sunday's score said he was right.

"He didn't have much there" was the line Baltimore Coach John Harbaugh said last week that for some reason ignited such emotion in the Dolphins' locker room.

Who didn't say the same thing all last year? He didn't have much talent. Sure, Cameron didn't make much use of what he had. And he seemed overmatched as a rookie coach. But he didn't have much.

"Everybody knows what happened," Cameron said. "I'm responsible for what happened. I should've done a better job. I learned some things. I'm a better coach now because of it."

Here's when he gave something: He told one thing he learned.

"Some guys look in the mirror at what they can do and some guys look out the window for someone to blame," he said.